The experience of LGBTQ+ older adults – Herb Weiss

New AARP Report Takes a Look at Older  LGBTQ+ Issues

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues

The newly released, annual AARP report, “Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults,” shows that four in five (78%) older adults who identify as LGBTQ+ are concerned about having enough support from family and friends as they age. At the same time, the researchers noted that nearly half (45%) are already living with a chronic condition, disability, or both – a figure that will likely increase as they age. The 53-page report examines top concerns of LGBTQ+ adults age 45 and over, from caregiving, to mental health, to finances.

The Dignity survey, first published in 2018 and repeated every year, examines the LGBTQ+ communities that have different life experiences than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Cisgender relates to a person whose gender identify corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth. 

About 7.6 percent of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another non-heterosexual orientation, reports a 2024 Gallup poll.  Four years ago, this percentage was 5.6.

Understanding aging LGBTQ issues

“The unique needs and realities of older LGBTQ+ Americans are still too often overlooked in society,” said Cassandra Cantave Burton, Senior Research Advisor for AARP in an Aug. 12 statement announcing the report’s findings. “AARP’s research has consistently shown that the majority of LGBTQ+ older adults are concerned about having adequate social supports to rely on as they age.”

Three-in-five LGBTQ+ respondents age 45 or older (58%) are a caregiver or have been one in the past, which can add additional challenges to their lives, say researchers, noting that 78% of respondents say they are stressed emotionally due to caregiving responsibilities. The study findings indicate that some feel obligated to care for someone who is not accepting of their identity (14%).  

Almost half of all study’s respondents (45%) expressed they lack companionship, with more (48%) saying they often or sometimes feel isolated from others. LGBTQ+ respondents with a disability say they are also more likely to be extremely or very concerned (51%) about having adequate social support compared to those without a disability (33%).

Most (77%) LGBTQ+ older adults say they have been physically active and health is important. But they face unique challenges when it comes to healthcare.

Sixty one percent of the LGBTQ+ caregivers say they find it difficult to get enough rest or exercise, while 45% find it hard to visit their doctors.  Fifty percent report that they struggle to maintain a healthy diet, while 85% take a prescription medication on a regular basis.

When asked about access to health care, respondents felt that age discrimination (25%), sexual orientation discrimination (21%), or gender identity discrimination (20%) have an effect on health.

Here are few more notable findings gleaned from AARP’s LGBSTQ study. 

When considering future employment prospects among those who are employed, age-based discrimination is feared by nearly half (45%) of LGBTQ+ adults 45-plus.  Almost all respondents (94%) say maintaining financial security is very or extremely important. And between all LGBTQ groups, transgender/nonbinary individuals are least likely to have $75,000 or more (34%) in household income.

The report also offers recommendations to improve outcomes, including increasing access to health care and providing health care providers tools and training for increased awareness of issues related to the LGBTQ+ community.

 LGBTQ Rhode Islanders weigh in

“The report’s findings are heartbreaking and highlight the social and health disparities that for so long have impacted our LGBTQ+ Community,” says Yesenia Rubio, calling for the creation of intentional legislation that would eliminate prejudice and disparities once and for all due to sexual orientation.  “We need to develop more resources within our healthcare system and communities across Rhode Island, said Rubio, Pawtucket City Councilwoman at-large who is the proprietor of Pawtucket-based Notes Coffee Co.

 “The release of this report is a call to action for all of us to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community can age with the dignity, equal care, and community support they deserve,” says Rubio.

“When my wife and I tried to get pregnant with our son Julian, our insurance would not cover our fertility treatment because we were a gay couple and not a heterosexual or “man and woman” couple,” says Rubio. “Where is the equity in that? It violates our civil and constitutional rights. Everyone should have the right to create a family regardless of their sexual orientation,” she adds. 

After reviewing AARP’s study, Deborah DeBare, 63, board member of Pride in Aging – RI (formerly SAGE-RI), questioned the age cutoff for the report. “Although it is great to see people between ages 45 and 60 being included in this study, the experiences  elated to health access, caregiving, social isolation and discrimination are significantly different when looking at elders,” she notes.

“I think that this skews the results. If the survey had been conducted among LGBTQ+ people who are 60 or older, I believe the results would have shown an even more alarming rate of social isolation and difficulties accessing care, feeling safe, and being discriminated against, says DeBare, who serves as Senior Deputy Director at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. 

The high percentage of women identifying as caregivers among the LGBTQ+ population is not surprising, adds DeBare, noting that women as a whole are disproportionately relied on for caregiving (with parents, children, adult children with special needs, with partners, and within social networks). “It would have been interesting to compare the rates reported in this survey with rates among the heterosexual population of women,” she says. 

According to DeBare, the AARP report does not dive deep enough into questions about abuse, exploitation or discrimination. “These are serious risks for LGBTQ+ elders. When they move into nursing homes or assisted living spaces, or participate in senior center activities/spaces, they are not able to “screen” the environments to ensure that the staff or fellow residents/participants are going to treat them with dignity and respect,” she warns.

“After having been “out” for many years or decades, it is an emotional burden for LGBTQ+ elders to have to approach their lives in the cloak of “the closet” to assess the safety of their new environment, says DeBare. “There are way too many stories of people having been insulted, treated disrespectfully, and discriminated against by caregivers, staff, and fellow residents,” she notes.  

Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults was fielded online in April, 2024. A total of 2,212 LGBTQ community members age 45 and over participated, including 1,013 cisgender gay and bisexual+ men, 868 cisgender lesbian and bisexual+ women and an oversample of 331 transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) participants. The study oversampled Asian (106), African American/Black (276), and Hispanic/Latino(a/x) (269) individuals.

Resources

All reports in the Dignity series can be found at   https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/social-leisure/relationships/lgbtq-dignity-series/?CMP=RDRCT-PRI-HOMFAM

To download a copy of this report, go to  chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/topics/social-leisure/relationships/lgbtq-dignity-series-2024.doi.10.26419-2fres.00805.001.pdf.

For AARP’s LGBTQ Community Caregiving Guidelines, go to chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/caregiving/pdf/family-caregiving-guide/lgbtq.pdf?intcmp=AE-HF-VC-LGBT-R2-C3

Find more News, finance, wellness and other topics of interest for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, go to https://www.aarp.org/home-family/voices/lgbtq/?cmp=RDRCT-LGBTQ-03022023

To read more articles by Herb Weiss, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/herb-weiss/

Herb Weiss, LRI -12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who has covered aging, health care and medical issues for over 43 years. To purchase his books, Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly and a sequel, compiling weekly published articles, go to herbweiss.com.